Cameron can only win with true Tory values

Bearing up: While the Tory vote in local elections was lower than four years ago, it did not collapse

For David Cameron, it could have been worse. The Tory vote in the local elections, though down on four years ago, did not collapse. Boris Johnson was triumphantly re-elected Mayor of London.

Labour, while enjoying success outside its heartlands, barely matched the performance of William Hague’ s Conservatives in 2000, the year before they were routed in the General Election.

But the electorate did deliver a very clear message to the Prime Minister: they want him to stop pandering so much to the Liberal Democrats (who now have fewer councillors than at any time in their history) and govern as a Tory.

As defence minister Gerald Howarth remarked, the party’s natural supporters are bewildered by the decision to prioritise fringe issues such as gay marriage and House of Lords reform when the country is struggling to escape the worst slump since the 1930s.

People want to see a radical plan to create growth and jobs – which means slashing red tape, cutting taxes and shrinking the bloated public spending.

Families getting up to go to work each day want real action to tackle the shameful culture of welfarism. They want Mr Cameron to deliver on his promises to curb immigration and the EU’s powers.

Instead voters see a country that has slid into a double dip recession. To their great credit, Mr Cameron and the Chancellor have brought Labour’s deficit under control – but spending on the likes of housing benefit continues to rise.

Their limited action to reduce migration and the insidious influence of Brussels, while welcome, has not satisfied a disillusioned public which delivered a significant protest vote to UKIP.

Boris Johnson – a Eurosceptic who advocates a small state and low taxes and who, crucially, is not handcuffed to the Lib Dems – showed what can be achieved by sticking to core Conservative values.

Yes, he was fighting a personality contest against an awful, antediluvian opponent in Ken Livingstone, but voters also recognised he’d slashed waste and frozen taxes in his first term in office.

Tory MPs say the second message on the doorstep was that people want Mr Cameron to get a grip, in the wake of a truly dreadful six weeks which included the fuel strike crisis, the Abu Qatada debacle, the revelations over cash-foraccess and the BSkyB affair.

Worst of all was the botched and badly explained Budget, which lifted thousands more low earners out of paying any taxes, but which is remembered only for the granny tax, the pasty tax, helping the wealthy by axing the 50p tax rate and the assault on charitable giving.

The public will forgive the Tory Party many things – but only if it lives up to its reputation for economic competence.

The results represented a good(ish) night for Labour but Ed Miliband – while now far more secure in his job after winning 38 per cent of the vote – hardly made the breakthrough required of a party facing a mid-term government in the middle of an economic crisis.

Ed Miliband (pictured with his wife Justine) is more secure in his job after winning 38 per cent of the vote

For example, his seven point lead over the Tories compares to a 16 point advantage enjoyed by Mr Cameron over Labour at the 2008 local elections.

So, all is far from lost for the Prime Minister. Most Tories understand the shackles imposed by the Lib Dems will never let him do all he or they want.

What is certain, however, is that the country will not forgive a government which fails to take the brave steps required to fix the economy and give the country a hope of a brighter future.

Mr Cameron remains a man of genuine appeal and undoubted ability. He has three years until the election to prove his economic competency and his Tory principles. But the clock is ticking.